testimonials
“I received a Pallet Popper for Fathers’ Day last year. Wow is that ever a nice tool. The leverage that it has is amazing. Popping boards is so easy and the nail puller works so well. Those nails come out so nice, and I don’t have to bend down with a hammer to get them. I am well past my 80th birthday and this tool just makes the job so easy!”
Len Connah
The Connahs invited us to come for a bowl of homemade soup one lunch time; no one in their right mind turns down Beth’s homemade soup. In the light conversation before lunch, Len asked what we were keeping busy with these days and I mentioned the Poppers.
Len lit up like a Christmas tree! That thing is amazing! I was surprised. I had no idea that Len even knew what a Popper was. Len went on for the next 10 minutes about how much he liked it and why, while his wife simultaneously told us that the son had one, (and maybe the son’s wife had one too although at that point trying to listen to both at once was more than my old ears could keep up to). We were so pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm that I did not even think
to invite Len to do a testimonial until we were just about to leave! Len was just as enthusiastic about the invite. It took a while to pare it down to a few sentences. When he saw the picture I took with my phone, he was momentarily concerned that he should have slicked down his hair a bit, but typical to the Connahs, he was not about to let a bad hair day get in the way of getting the task done and said “never mind! put it in anyway”.
Notice the wall clock behind Len in the picture; that sums up the down-to-earth nature of the Connahs! They are about 20 years past the retirement milestone, but still work circles around most anyone!
“I own an Industrial Supply outlet in Grande Prairie. We frequently have pallets that for various reasons cannot be returned to the shipper, or recycled. We use a Popper to dis-assemble the pallets for disposal. I find that the Popper saves us both time and money over sawing the pallets apart, which is what we had to do previously.”
Dave Burkinshaw (Owner, Resource Purchasing)
When we were finally happy with the Popper and had made a few for friends and neighbours, we were encouraged to make a stand and try retailing them. I had a great deal of respect for Dave and his company, so screwed up my courage to approach him and see if he would consider putting a stand in his store. Even though his location is very tight for space he did not hesitate! Over the next year Dave was very helpful and encouraging as we tried to learn how to navigate the world of retail. When it came time to collect testimonials for Sprint Websites, I asked Dave if he could direct us to any customers and instead, he told us how he used one for the store. Then Dave told us to talk to Josh, one of Dave’s sales reps who had also bought one! Typical of Dave, he was not too keen on a picture of himself being included, but did relent and allowed me to put his business card in.
“ For some time now, my wife and I have built rustic furniture for ourselves out of pallet wood. When I saw the Pallet Poppers on sale, I realized that it could make a difference and I decided to buy one. The first project we used it for, we saved enough money to more than pay for it. My dad (a senior) loves it, my wife loves it, and I love it.”
Josh
I had to wait a few minutes for a break in the steady stream of customers in order to talk to Josh. He did not skip a beat and went straight in to his thoughts on the Popper. Having built pallet furniture for his family, he said it was easy to decide to buy one. He then went on to talk about how his wife, his dad and himself all like to work together on the projects. He was very direct about how each of them found it so much easier than conventional carpentry tools. By the way, Resource Purchasing sells a LOT of tools, so he had a wide choice available, power and otherwise. So, when he made this decision, it was an informed and experienced decision. He also mentioned that his new experience with his Popper made it easy to give store customers enough insight to enable them to decide if it was suitable for their purposes. Apparently, he has sold a “few”. When I asked him for a picture, he took the time to go thru his phone and find the shots of the bookcase that was the first project they had done with their new Popper. I could see why he was a fan; there is a lot of wood in that project! I could also see why they build their own. It was very nicely done. They do not sell furniture; they just make whatever they need next.
My introduction to the PALLET POPPER brought on immediate and fierce symptoms of selfishness … “I WANT one of those!!” Projects I had admired were now possibilities and the creative juices began to flow. I gathered my group of crafty girls (ages 8-13) and we began dismantling pallets. With just a few pointers, the girls were making progress. The younger ones needed a bit of extra muscle applied to the handle of the Pallet Popper but they too finished the day with a pile of useable boards. After a few more sessions, each girl proudly displayed her personalized Deck Chair. Now the question is …”What shall we make next?” Or maybe the first question needs to be …”Where is hubby with my PALLET POPPER?”
- Homeschool Mama
My introduction to this family was in our home church where the whole family (all 9 of them) would sometimes lead worship music. They are VERY musical and can often be found performing at churches, Gospel Jamborees and rodeos and the like.
The dad is in professional retail sales at “Trapper Gord’s” which also sells into the homesteader market, and so I sought him out for advice about how to approach the whole new world of marketing. Dad and the boys seemed to appreciate the Popper, but when I approached them about a testimonial, it was the mom who stepped forward with the nice write-up. I had been so intent on listening to the dad that I had completely missed her reaction to seeing the Popper. Wow, did she ever pleasantly surprise me with her story.
As nice as it is to have Popper users appreciate the features that I put into developing the Popper, it is fantastic to see someone use the Popper to MULTIPLY into the lives of others. I was privileged to be a shop teacher and then guidance counsellor for 15 years, and currently teach a bit in adult ed. One of a teacher’s greatest thrills is to see people take the tools that were put in front of them and not just make them their own, but multiply them thru others. So, a huge THANK YOU to Homeschool Mama!
Would I buy a Pallet Popper? Yes! I am in the house renovation business. My boss and I were struggling with the removal of a deck because the homeowner wanted to save all of the wood.
After using hammers, various prybars, and expending much energy, we became increasingly frustrated. I suggested to my boss that we try a Pallet Popper that I had seen in our building store. Using the Pallet Popper enabled us to finish the job 4-5 times faster with much less effort. We also found it to be useful in new construction as a general pry bar. Would I recommend the Pallet Popper to a friend?
Absolutely.
- Russell Efrid
Russ is quite the guy. I have known him for years. He has done very well in several careers. He is a very skilled marksman, a very competent flight instructor, heavy equipment operator, oilfield operator, house framer, and more recently home renovator. And through it all is also married with 3 really neat children. So, when Russ pulled into my yard a year ago, I was pleased to see him and told him so; however, the first words out of his mouth were not hello Bill, but “they made sure I had to tell you we were not using it for what it was meant for”! And then he produced a mangled Popper. His testimony explains how he got his hands on a Popper, so I won’t repeat that part. Turns out the boss and the crew were so pleased with how the Popper helped them with that deck that they began to get very “creative” with what they tried to do with it! Long story shorter, they were not complaining but rather were wanting me to know how happy they were, but would really like to encourage me to build a Popper beefy enough to withstand the collective creativity of their crew. Russ assured me that they knew that it would cost more, but they were so appreciative of the Poppers ability as a general pry bar, that they were sure it would be worth at least another 50 or 60 dollars. Thus, the Heavy Duty Popper was born! (We were able to do it for the $50). I thought it was an interesting challenge, and built four or five in case anyone else was interested. I thought we would be stocked for the next several years. We were not. A few weeks later, having sold out of Heavy Duty Poppers, we built another batch, and then another, and on it goes. So “thank you Russ” for inspiring the heavy duty. Now, for any other “creative crews”, we would love to hear your thoughts via email, rather than you having to sacrifice your Popper just to make the point!
"The Pallet Popper was a life saver! This past summer I decided to build a raised garden bed out of used pallets. I struggled for several days, with a hammer and crowbar, dismantling the pallets. My arms and hands were being destroyed. A friend of mine offered her Pallet Popper to help me out. I was finished my project in 2 days flat! I absolutely love this product! I was upset when I had to return it to my friend. Totally recommend the Pallet Popper to anyone that recycles pallets or barn wood, like I do!"
- Rhandi Burton
I have never formally met Rhandi Burton. Rhandi’s mom, Alisa, is the administrator at a local fab-shop (Star Fabrication) where I have gotten work done over the years. I had stopped in to see Alisa, to pay an invoice. Alisa questioned if it was true that I was the culprit behind the Pallet Poppers. No one can hide for long from Alisa, so I just ‘fessed up.
It turned out that Alisa’s daughter Rhandi had commented to her mom about how a neighbour had loaned Rhandi a Popper and how much Rhandi had loved it. I asked Alisa to check if Rhandi would mind contributing and the rest fell into place from there.
